Dhammapada 2.1.p4

2.1.p4

Tasmiṃ samaye kosambiyaṃ pūrantappo nāma rājā hoti. So ekadivasaṃ gabbhiniyā deviyā saddhiṃ bālasūriyatapaṃ tappamāno abbhokāsatale nisīdi. Devī rañño pārupanaṃ satasahassagghanikaṃ rattakambalaṃ pārupitvā nisinnā raññā saddhiṃ samullapamānā rañño aṅgulito satasahassagghanikaṃ rājamuddikaṃ nīharitvā attano aṅguliyaṃ pilandhi. Tasmiṃ samaye hatthiliṅgasakuṇo ākāsena gacchanto dūrato rattakambalapārupanaṃ deviṃ disvā ‘‘maṃsapesī’’ti saññāya pakkhe vissajjetvā otari. Rājā tassa otaraṇasaddena bhīto uṭṭhāya antonivesanaṃ pāvisi. Devī garugabbhatāya ceva bhīrukajātikatāya ca vegena gantuṃ nāsakkhi. Atha naṃ so sakuṇo ajjhappatto nakhapañjare nisīdāpetvā ākāsaṃ pakkhandi. Te kira sakuṇā pañcannaṃ hatthīnaṃ balaṃ dhārenti. Tasmā ākāsena netvā yathārucitaṭṭhāne nisīditvā maṃsaṃ khādanti. Sāpi tena nīyamānā maraṇabhayabhītā cintesi – ‘‘sacāhaṃ viravissāmi, manussasaddo nāma tiracchānagatānaṃ ubbejanīyo, taṃ sutvā maṃ chaḍḍessati. Evaṃ sante saha gabbhena jīvitakkhayaṃ pāpuṇissāmi, yasmiṃ pana ṭhāne nisīditvā maṃ khādituṃ ārabhissati, tatra naṃ saddaṃ katvā palāpessāmī’’ti. Sā attano paṇḍitatāya adhivāsesi.

At this time Parantapa was king of Kosambi. One day he was sitting out in the open air basking himself in the rays of the newly risen sun, and beside him sat his queen, great with child. The queen was wearing the king’s cloak, a crimson blanket worth a hundred thousand pieces of money; and as she sat there conversing with the king she removed from the king’s finger the royal signet, worth a hundred thousand pieces of money, and slipped it on her own.

Just at that moment a monster bird with a bill as big as an elephant’s trunk came soaring through the air. Seeing the queen and mistaking her for a piece of meat, he spread his wings and swooped down. When the king heard the bird swoop down, he sprang to his feet and entered the royal palace. But the queen, because she was great with child and because she was of a timid nature, was unable to make haste. The bird pounced upon her, caught her up in the cage of his talons, and soared away with her into the air. (These birds are said to possess the strength of five elephants; they are therefore able to convey their victims through the air, settle wherever they wish, and devour their flesh.)

As the queen was being carried away by the bird, terrified though she was with the fear of death, she preserved her presence of mind and thought to herself, “Animals stand in great fear of the human voice. Therefore if I cry out, this bird will drop me the instant he hears the sound of my voice. But in that case I should accomplish only my own destruction and that of my unborn child. If, however, I wait until he settles somewhere and begins to eat, then I can make a noise and frighten him away.” Through her own wisdom, therefore, she kept patience and endured.